Oleksandr P, 28. Additional stage of treatment due to the trauma

How Oleksandr’s treatment is progressing:

Wounded:

Oleksandr P, 28. A fighter with the ‘Tornado’ volunteer battalion, wounded at Schastya.

Wound:

The consequences of a gunshot wound to the lower right leg:
• 80 cm³ defect to the tibia
• onset of osteomyelitis.

Oleksandr has been treated by traditional methods for more than a year, but the significant bone defect has not been restored and his leg remains non-functional. In addition, because the external fixation device has been fitted for so long, osteomyelitis has set into the bone, threatening Oleksandr with dangerous complications as a result – and potentially amputation.

More information about the wounded:

Oleksandr, a member of the volunteer battalion ‘Tornado’, received a gunshot wound to his lower leg near the village of Schastya on January 30, 2015. While patrolling the area, Oleksandr, along with his comrades, were ambushed by the enemy – in a roadside cemetery a sniper was concealed who then fired on the fighters’ vehicles.

Oleksandr was immediately sent to Severodonetsk, and then to Dnipropetrovsk. There, the soldier underwent six operations but still no union of the bone has occurred and bone loss amounts to 80 см³.

Oleksandr is a resident of Dnipropetrovsk, where waiting for him is his wife and 3.5-year-old son. Earlier, Oleksandr had his own business – a restaurant, club and recreation complex. From the beginning of active hostilities in the East, he started volunteering – buying and delivering to different units of the Ukrainian military clothing, thermal imagers, and UAVs. The soldier tells us that at the beginning of 2015, his, like many other volunteer organizations in Dnipropetrovsk, faced unfounded accusations and persecution by police, and his business, he said, “was ceased” by someone close to local prosecutors. After the loss of his business, Oleksandr decided to volunteer to go to the front.

He is currently documenting their activities and collecting evidence to initiate the return of his businesses – legally. However, he is limited by his health – for more than a year he has not left hospital, and had almost lost hope of recovering.

Required treatment:

Reconstructive-restorative treatment of the tibia, which will help return the leg to full function.

Itemized costs for diagnosis and treatment:

1. Examination and consulting specialists for treatment (study of cells, blood, urine, control X-rays, ECG, etc) – 10,140 UAH
2. Sampling fragments of the fibula and red bone marrow (discount 40%) – 16,350 UAH
3. Endothelial cells, 20 million (discount 30%) – 28,000 UAH
4. Periosteal cells, 20 million (discount 30%) – 28,000 UAH
5. MSCs from bone marrow, 120 million (discount 30%) – 76,800 UAH
6. Total cost of reconstructive and restorative treatment (discount 40%) – 225,054 UAH

Budget update:
In 2016, Oleksander completed the course of treatment for the defect of the tibia. After the bone was healed, in the fall of 2017, doctors removed the fixing plate. Oleksander was released from the hospital and sent home to recuperate. He was given clear instructions on how to exercise the leg – walk on crutches for a month, and then gradually increase the load on the restored leg. But, inspired by the good result, and the absence of pain during the movement, Oleksander somewhat overexercised putting too much pressure on the restored bone. Thus the bone curved gradually. To eliminate this problem doctors will perform osteosynthesis with the help of an external fixation device – to correctly align the bone’s axis, and later, when the bone is strong remove the apparatus. The cost of this stage amounted to 72,712 UAH.
After a complete recovery and return to the active healthy life, the sleeping infection in the leg woke up. Now it might destroy the new bone and causes considerable pain and discomfort. Thus the need for additional urgent surgery. The cost of the operation amounts to UAH 78 469.

Cost of treatment including medical center discount of 27%: 535,525 UAH